


The Changeling Theory

by TheAzureFox



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Genre: Akira goes haywire, Angst, Speculation, poor Aoi, to some extent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-12-18 03:33:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11865798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAzureFox/pseuds/TheAzureFox
Summary: "Who are you?"Akira Zaizen looks at Aoi Zaizen and curls his lips.He repeats his question."Who. Are. You?"(Speculative fic)





	The Changeling Theory

**Author's Note:**

> Yaaaay so, for once, I'm actually early. This piece was super quick to write (only like 2-3 pages, honestly) but I think it gets its point across well enough. Prepare for some angst this fic bc I'm messing with the Zaizen siblings again :D
> 
> So, this is a theory I've had for quite some time (since episode 7, actually, when we saw Akira's flashback regarding his sister) and I thought I'd write a piece regarding it.
> 
> Prepare for the suffering ahead~

Akira Zaizen doesn’t want to believe it.

 _Can’t_ believe it.

Ema stands before him, the undeniable document of proof in her hands and he looks over it with such horror that he covers his mouth with a hand and tries not to taste the bile that arises in the back of his throat.

“Are…Are you sure this is the right document?” he asks the woman before him.

She gives him a pitying glance and merely shrugs her shoulders. “It’s fine if you don’t believe me. But, it’s the real deal. It’s not my problem whether you believe me or not.”

Cold and heartless. As expected of her. He takes the document and lets the image of it sear into his mind.

He tries not to faint from the shock that makes his skin tingle with numbness.

“I…see.”

He reads it again and again, just to make sure, just to clarify, just to be _certain_. The words don’t change, don’t shift, don’t transform into what he wants to see. He shudders and tries to maintain his sanity.

It’s so hard. It’s so _hard_.

He wants nothing more than to rip the paper to shreds, to set it ablaze and run far, far away from everything he knows. He wants to flee, to vanish and to never return. The knowledge before him is the Apple of Eden, the forbidden fruit that he sank his teeth into and now he’s been cast out from the paradise he once sought.

He bites his lips and curls his fingers into his skin. Nails pierce through and he hisses, holding up his palms for his eyes to inspect. Crimson drops appear and there’s a slight intake of breath from Ema. He turns to her and can see the way her eyebrows rise in interest. Ema's curious, her lust for knowledge burning in her eyes as red drops from his fingers.

“You may go, Ema.”

Her hungry gaze devours the blood on his hand. He can read the questions in her stare, can see the way her lips quirk upwards with intrigue. _Why would you injure yourself over this?_  She seems to ask him. _Isn’t this what you wanted to know all along? It's not_ that _bad._

He curls his lips and she is smart enough to not ignite his fuse. Instead, she mounts her motorcycle, gives him a wave, and then rides off towards another destination.

Akira watches her go, watches her disappear and wishes he can do the same, to cleave himself free of the problems before him. He looks back at the document and reads the headline, keeping his eyes from stinging and his face from distorting in fury. 

It reads:

_Fatal Car Crash in Den City._

_After a freak accident in Den City on Saturday morning, August 21 st, three people have been found dead. Among the deceased are: Akihiro Zaizen (age 35), Momona Zaizen (age 23), and…_

Akira tries not to crumple the newspaper in his hands as he reads the last line.

_…Aoi Zaizen (age 6)._

~~~~

“Who are you?”

Akira Zaizen stares at Aoi Zaizen, his lips curling as he circles her. She looks back in shock, following his movements and trembling with every footstep he takes.

He repeats his question.

“Who. Are. You?”

The girl digs her fingers into her hair, pulling out strings upon strings of honey-chocolate as she shakes.

“I’m your sister,” she responds.

Her gaze is lost upon him, dazed and confused.

Akira towers over her and his hand lunges out and snags the collar of her shirt.He ignores the way his grip quivers or the way he wants to toss her to the ground and run away. He pulls her face close to his, nearly snarling at the way she looks back at him in horror.

Akira doesn’t _want_ this.

He didn’t want it to come to _this_.

But, then again, he never wanted to live a _lie_ either.

“No, you’re not.”

Akira produces  the newspaper that pronounces his sister dead and hands 'Aoi' the paper. She looks over it, takes a sharp intake of breath, and then going pale as she falls to the floor.

“You’re not my real sister, _Aoi Zaizen_. My real sister died in that car crash.” Akira straightens himself out, his eyes narrowed. “And so, I ask again. Who are you?”

“I…I’m still your sister!” she says. _Pleads_. Her hands are clasped in prayer, the news document squished amongst her fingers. "You have to believe me. We grew up together, right? We share the same memories, that's something you can't change regardless!"

He notes the fear and panic in her voice and notices the flare of recognition in her eyes.

Akira confronts her.

“Did you know about this?”

‘Aoi Zaizen’ looks at the ground. “I…always suspected.”

He raises an eyebrow, his gaze cold and penetrating. “Oh?” he says. “Is that why you look so desperate right now? Is that why you’re avoiding my eyes – because you feel guilty for keeping this from me?”

Her hands slam on the floor. “ _I didn’t want it to be true!_ ” she shouts, tilting her face to the ground so as to shadow her features. “I…made Blue Angel because I wanted to be closer to you. I wanted to look like your sister, to be your sister! I only wanted to be by your side – you were my _only_ family. I thought that, maybe, that we were really siblings. But then, Yusaku and the others…we found out and I…Brother, I really-!”

“You have _no right_ to call me your _brother!_ ” He snarls, breathing in with a long hiss.

“Aoi” jolts in place and he tries to restrain any guilt he might feel towards the girl.

He can’t care less for someone who’s done nothing less than to play pretend.

She recoils, withdrawing into herself and digging her fingers into the fabric of her skirt with agitation. Her shoulders move up and down and soon enough Akira realizes that she is _crying_.

The man swallows away his regret and marches on. “All this time…you were just pretending, weren’t you? Pretended and pretended and pretended…I don’t want to a game of being fake. I thought I was sacrificing for my sister…instead, I sacrificed myself for a substitute, a _changeling_. And, for that, I need to know. Who are you really, girl?”

“I am…we are…” the girl looks at her hands. “There’s no reasonable way to explain our existence. The fact that we live, that Yusaku and Go the rest live…we all weren’t supposed to. We’re abnormalities, 'fakes' built into human bodies. This much is true.”

“Why did you pretend to be my sister?”

She tries to laugh and finds it stuck in her throat as she comes to face him. Her eyes shine with puzzlement but her lips wobble with defiance, curled with the faintest hint of bitterness. “I never _pretended_ anything _._ I always was your sister. Even if I’m a fake, even if I’m not related to you by blood, even if you see me differently now, I’m still a Zaizen. And, because of that, we’re still siblings…Aren’t we?”

He looks away and he hears her breath hitch in surprise.

“Broth..er?”

“I can’t.”

‘Aoi’s’ breathing becomes panicked, moving in and out with nervous anxiety.

“I can’t,” he repeats. “I won’t…I won't accept this!”

Akira spins on his heels, clutching at his head and combing his fingers through his hair in utter anguish. Lies, lies, _lies._  All of it. Her words, his words, their words. All of them are lies. His whole life has become a lie, his whole reason for living has become a _lie._

He wants to laugh. He wants to scream. The memories in his heart screams for Aoi, scream for the girl who sits behind him but his mind quiets his innermost yearnings with the cold, sharp words of logic.

_She is not your sister._

~~~

He leaves.

Akira Zaizen leaves ‘Aoi Zaizen’ behind and never looks back.

The next day, he disappears entirely.

**Author's Note:**

> Changeling. Noun. A fae child that is said to have been secretly swapped in the place of a stolen human child.
> 
> In other words, a theory I have regarding Aoi Zaizen (and, by extension, Yusaku, Go, and Revolver) is that they are "changelings" from another world. 
> 
> Aoi was meant to replace the sister Akira lost in his parent's car crash (and, while it's left ambiguous here, it is assumed Akira lost his true memories of what occurred when his parents were killed. Likely, SOL Tech had something to do with it...). 
> 
> Yusaku is the replacement for Kusanagi's brother. Although, unlike with Aoi and Akira, Kusanagi is one of the few aware of both the 'fae child' (Yusaku) and the 'human child' (his brother).
> 
> Revolver is potentially the replacement for Dr. Kogami's son or, at least, he's the adopted son of Dr. Kogami. 
> 
> Go, if this theory can be assumed true, was either swapped for someone important in his manager's life or, maybe, he was the only one who couldn't replace a 'human child' due to not being able to fill a spot in someone else's life.
> 
> Also, the ending of this fic can be interpreted in whatever way. Akira could have disappeared for many reasons, but perhaps it's the guilt and anguish in his heart that his driven him away forever...


End file.
